On Tuesday, Lord Beaconsfield was presented by a deputation from
the factory operatives of England, Scotland, and Ireland, with a framed letter of congratulation on his elevation to the Peerage, containing the warm thanks of the operatives for the steady support he had given for almost forty years to the move- ment for protecting the wives and children of the factory opera- tives against the evils of over-toil, and other preventible dangers of the manufacturing system. Lord Shaftesbury headed the deputa- tion, and read the congratulatory address; and Lord Beaconsfield, of course, reiterated his well-known views on the duty of ameliorating in every possible way the social condition of the working-classes. The author of " Sybil " has always been anxious to " emancipate " "the Crown" and "the People." And now it has fallen to his lot, as he hinted with some pride on Tuesday, to complete the measures intended for the latter purpose, by improving the factory laws, revising the rights of labour, and extending the suffrage to the householders of our boroughs. Why does he not now begin to 'emancipate' the Crown? Surely he does not consider the Royal Titles Act a substantial step in that direction ?
Previous page
